1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to functions of portable terminals. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for providing an emergency alert service in a portable terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, conventional portable terminals have been equipped with a variety of functions to meet a user's needs. For example, the functions include Electronic-mail (E-mail), Internet services, games, and the like. More particularly, the portable terminals can provide a multimedia function to transmit video data.
The portable terminals periodically communicate with a base station in a local area where they are located, and report their current locations to the base station. When a portable terminal moves from an area covered by a base station to an area covered by another base station based on movement, the portable terminal also changes its current base station to the base station in the area to which the portable terminal has moved.
If a portable terminal user is involved in an emergency situation, such as a traffic accident, an accident in a remote location, a kidnapping, and the like, he/she must make a call with the portable terminal to inform his/her acquaintance, a police station, or an emergency rescue station of the emergency situation. However, making a call, connecting and informing his/her acquaintance, a police station or an emergency rescue station of his/her emergency situation takes a relatively long time. More particularly, the user may be in a condition where he/she cannot make a call.
To address this problem, portable terminals are equipped with an emergency alert function for informing others of an emergency situation. The emergency alert function (i.e., an emergency alert service) refers to a function that allows an emergency alert message (i.e., an ‘SOS’ message) to be transmitted to a called party, set by a portable terminal user, if the portable terminal user is an emergency situation, thereby informing the called party of the emergency situation of the portable terminal user. When the called portable terminal receives an SOS message, the portable terminal makes a call to the phone number transmitted with the SOS message, so that the emergency situation can be properly handled.
However, in order to provide the emergency alert service, conventional technology requires a called portable terminal to constantly be in an idle mode. That is, if the called portable terminal is making a call or operating in a particular mode, such as a camera mode, and the like, it cannot provide the emergency alert service. Also, when a portable terminal requests an emergency alert service, it generates and transmits an SOS message to a previously set called portable terminal but does not create any alarm.
Accordingly, in order to provide an emergency alert service, the conventional portable terminals are dependent on their current operating modes. Therefore, the called party of the portable terminal cannot be informed of the users' emergency. If a portable terminal user is involved in an emergency situation, such as an accident in a remote location or confinement in a closed space, his/her acquaintance, a police station or an emergency rescue station receives a belated SOS message and cannot immediately react to the emergency situation. In this case, the portable terminal user may instead inform people in the vicinity of his/her emergency. However this action requires the user to use his/her voice, which may be impossible in an emergency situation. Therefore, he/she must cope with the emergency situation solely via an SOS message.
Conventional portable terminals execute an emergency alert function as their input means is operated. The user, however, may accidentally operate the input means, causing an emergency alert function. If the called portable terminal receives an SOS message caused by the portable terminal user's accidental operation, the portable terminal generates an alarm which may cause embarrassment for the portable terminal user.
Therefore, a need exists for an apparatus and method for providing an emergency alert service in a portable terminal during various operating modes and for providing an alarm during the emergency alert service.